This is my third post for this month! Yey! Usually, it takes me months to post a blog. I am grateful with the gift of time.
Life update! I am currently (technically) unemployed because I focused on freelancing. I now have the luxury of time to do the things I really love. This includes writing.
In my other blog post, I wrote about how silence helps people become stronger. Silence and rest go hand in hand. As if they’re a tandem.
For today, I unearthed this 2021 blog in my drafts about rest.
When was the last time that you REALLY rest?
Like, you do not check on your phone, do not read email, do not reply to urgent private messages, or answer calls related to work or a side hustle?
Has it been a long time?
I have a problem resting. It’s my weakness. I work a lot. I make sure that my schedule is filled with activities. I don’t want to be idle. There’s a time when I even work on weekends. However, this should not be a habit. It’s really tiring at the end of the day. (I have two eyebags.)
Time came when I felt really tired. I felt like I was only dragging myself to work. My mind couldn’t come up with creativity and aesthetically pleasing thoughts. With this, I knew that I needed to rest.
Rest is a reminder that we, humans, need a break. We need to pause. This pause does not mean that we are giving up, but we are just taking a break from everything.
After the pause, we move forward and start functioning again.
Rest is a reminder that we need to relax. Think of ourselves. Remember that we have a family who wait for us. For some, maybe they have a puppy who’s waiting for them, too. (In my case, tyni (a shih tzu).)
In Filipino, rest is translated as pahinga. The root word of pahinga is hinga, which means to breathe.
Rest is a must. It doesn’t have to be a luxurious activity. But, it should be as simple as finding time for deep breathe.
When I feel so exhausted after a productive day, I pause and breathe consciously. This has been my calming way of resting since 2019.
When I feel overwhelmed, I read books to escape from my reality. Highlighting text from the book is relaxing for me. Then, I copy these notes in my journal. When I feel uncreative, I watch anime on Netflix.
You need to rest, really. It’s a gift that you should not leave unopened.
When was the last time that you really rest? Feel free to share your thoughts in the chat box. 🙂